Good Star, who many considered as a good thing beaten in the RM1mil Selangor Mile (1600m) for four-year-olds on Jul 20, will be out to avenge that heart-breaking defeat to Lucky Magic when he lines up in the RM300,000 Selangor Gold Cup (1600m) at Sungai Besi.

At stake is only three-tenths of the prizemoney of the Selangor Mile, but the ultimate 'prize' is the honour of being labelled as a Malaysia Group 1 winner.

Good Star, trained by Singaporean Mahadi Taib, has the qualities to be the next Group 1 winner, and he will meet Lucky Magic on 1.5kg better term in the weights.

The son of Shalaa met with rough passages in the straight and was only beaten only a neck in the Selangor Mile.

Since that fateful day two months ago, Good Star was gone on to run third to Duma in the Class 3 ACE Geosynthetic Trophy (1400m) on Aug 9, then captured the Merdeka Cup (1800m) on Aug 31.

With Good Star alloted only 52kg, the ride will go to first-time partner Khairil Zulkiflee. And he will start from barrier 2. 

Lucky Magic, meanwhile, has not raced again since winning the Selangor Mile with trainer Winson Cheng Han Yong keeping him fresh in his bid to win a third Group 1.

After two initial unplaced runs in the country, Lucky Magic went on to win eight of his next 11 starts, including the Penang Gold Cup (2000m) last December and the Perak Derby (2000m) in March. Regular jockey Ridzuan Shafiq will partner him again.

The Selangor Gold Cup this Sunday has attracted a field of 13 runners with the first four horses past the post in the Selangor Mile renewing their rivalry in this second leg of the Selangor Turf Club triple crown series.

Antipodean ran a mighty race to finish third in the Selangor Mile, according to jockey Bernardo Pinheiro who will ride him again on Sunday.

The of Derryn enjoyed a stellar first season last year during which he won nine of 10 starts, including the 3YO Pacific Cup (1200m), New Zealand Bloodstock 3YO Trophy (1400m), Selangor Gold Cup (1600m) and Sports Toto Supreme Challenge Cup (1400m).

Antipodean stepped up his preparation for Sunday's race with a hard-earned victory in the Class 1 Trinity Cup over 1400m on Aug 31. Pinheiro, who is also the winning jockey in the Selangor Gold Cup last year, declared afterwards the gelding was ready for the defence of the Cup.

Valois came from a long way back to ran fourth in the Selangor Mile and has raced twice more since – for a third and a fifth – to prepare for the Gold Cup.

Alloted 53kg in the Cup, owner Buffalo Stable and trainer Simon Dunderdale have called on the services of South African lightweight jockey Kaidan Brewer, 22, who ridden over 150 winners. He will jump from barrier 3, next to Good Star.

The last South African rider to come to this part of the world was Muzi Yeni, who of course landed the final Singapore Gold Cup on Smart Star last October.

Out to spoil the party for the 'Selangor Mile quartet' will be the Macau import Platinum Emperor  who has won three of his four starts in the country. He also finished third to Noah Khan in the Tunku Gold Cup (1200m) in March.

After his Tunku Gold Cup outing, trainer Ricky Choi gave him a let-up and brought him back with a run in each of the last months. Platinum Emperor won both times with Marc Lerner in the saddle.

What's more, the Sweynesse galloper set a new course record when winning over 1600m on the long course last time out, clocking 1min. 33.89 seconds which was 0.08 second better than the previous best set by Black Thorn when winning the Selangor Gold Cup in 2022.

Platinum Emperor  raced for two seasons at Taipa, winning eight times from 1200m to 1800m, truly a versatile sort. The six-year-old is rated at 107 and will share topweight of 59kg with Antipodean. Lerner retains the ride.

Two former Singapore gallopers – Raising Sixty-One and Dream Alliance – who had been placed at top-level races at Kranji will attempt to replicate that form although both are still trying to find their feet since arriving in Malaysia.

Raising Sixty-One is a winner of five races in Singapore and was placed twice at group level – third in the Group 3 Colonial Chief Stakes in 2023 and second to Lim's Kosciuszko in the Group 1 Queen Elizzabeth II Cup (1800m) in his final run at Kranji.

Dream Alliance , a winner of four races at Kranji, ran second to Lim's Kosciuszko in the 2023 Singapore Gold Cup (2000m), second to the same horse in the Kranji Mile last year and his final outing at Kranji was a fourth-place finish to Smart Star in the Grand Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) last October.

Mohamed Zaki will ride Raising Sixty-One while Nuqman Faris Rozi takes the mount on Dream Alliance.

Golden Pegasus (Yudanyl Aify) will aim to go one better this year. He was beaten a short head in the Selangor Gold Cup last year but his form this season has not been inspiring although he did bag a Supreme A race over 1600m in May.

Berry Bliss (Clyde Leck) had some good showings in the big races in the past, including a second to Cheval Blanc in the Piala Emas Sultan Selangor last December and second to Pasir Pinji in the Selangor Gold Cup in 2023. But he has yet to show in five outings this season.

Filial Dragon grabbed the headlines several times in recent months, having won five times this year inlcluding four on the trot. But the I Am Invincible gelding has no proven record over the mile. Trainer Jason Ong has nominated Oscar Chavez on the gelding. 

Former Penang Gold Cup and Piala Emas Sultan Selangor winner Cheval Blanc is already ten years old and he has struggled to find the right form since winning a Supreme A race over 1400m in April.

Making up the field of 13 will be Sacred Buddy and Pacific Warrior, both up in the grades.

Sacred Buddy, winner of five races in Singapore, has won twice in five outings in the country but his last win was a Class 2 race over 1400m two weeks ago.

Pacific Warrior is a genuine miler. One of his three wins in Singapore was over 1600m and all hs four victories in Malaysia has been over that distance.

He attempted to make all the running in the Merdeka Cup but faded to finish sixth to Good Star.